


Tomorrow Will Be Kinder

by mcstarr



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Levi is a dad, M/M, OC is ace, OC will get tortured, OC-centric, erwin is a dad, somewhat a fix-it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 04:53:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30117426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcstarr/pseuds/mcstarr
Summary: Freja wants nothing but to live peacefully with her family. She fought nail and tooth to get to where they are, but of course, the universe has other plans. Freja did everything she could to get out of it, and one of them is to pretend. She pretends to be a maid, a singer, a lowlife, a whore, and a soldier. She wants to survive, to go home to her family and live a life as any normal person live inside the walls, but she can't escape.
Relationships: Kenny Ackerman/Uri Reiss, Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Levi Ackerman & Original Female Character(s), Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! this is my first time posting here in AO3 and I'm so excited!!! I've planned on writing this for about a few months now and I'm so glad to be able to finally post this!
> 
> This story will take place just after the wall maria got destroyed and go from there. OC's name is Freja and she's a bit rough around the edges. I'm not planning to have any romantic interest for her but I guess we'll see! 
> 
> This story is a bit self-indulgent and I'm trying to not kill everyone here and fit everything in place. expect some people alive here! 
> 
> And I hope y'all are patient enough because the grammar kinda sucks as I'm not natie english speaker. And also I probably will update irregularly so... sorry for that. enjoy!

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shiganshina is a nice place. A bit dirty, but it was alright. Better than the place she was from. Freja likes Shiganshina, it was crowded and loud, making her feel invisible. Just after a year living in Wall Maria, she can’t imagine a place much like Shiganshina. 

She usually took her horse to Shiganshina, having a job to deliver people’s stuff and sometimes people around the town with her wagon. She got to know a lot of people as she is the only one who charged less, and people are more than happy to get their things delivered for a cheap price. It was her day-to-day life, going to Shiganshina just as the sun goes up, and going home almost at midnight. It was taxing and draining, but seeing her little brother happy as she came home with more food and sometimes books was more than enough. 

Erik, her 5-old-brother with big hazel eyes is the only thing that keeps her sane. Erik is a cute little thing, always asking questions while helping her get ready and always staying up waiting for her to get back. He always looks at her with admiration, seeing her as his role model. While Freja felt flattered, she didn’t want her brother to see her as an idol, someone who he wants to become. 

So she brought him books, filled with tales of knights, kings, and adventurers, so he sees them as an inspiration. When he saw those books for the first time, lights of wonder sparkling his eyes, seeing them making her over the moon. She knows Erik is always a dreamer, his imaginations always run high. That, and he’s brilliant too. He could already read when he’s three, much earlier than her who was still struggling to read and write. Seeing him buried in the books and telling her about his ideas and stories are the highlight of her day. 

Different from his brother whose love for her is as clear as a sky on a sunny day, their mother Astrid is another story. She’s a small lady with an extremely beautiful face as if carved by the gods in Erik’s books, eyes with distinct purple color with white streaks, high cheekbones, and dainty nose, looking like a fairy. Many men had tried to court Astrid when she moved to the village, ranging from the local farmer to high-personnel military officer from the interior. 

They didn’t care about Astrid having 2 kids from her previous ‘marriage’, some were even glad to have such beautiful kids that they can adopt, but Astrid always declined them. On one side, Freja could understand why she did that, most of them are fat fucks who are looking for a trophy wife, some are ugly fucks who had an attitude like a pig, and some are idiots, too much of an idiot for her. On the other, she could marry them and get as rich as she can, make sure if they die their money goes for her and they’re set for life. But Astrid didn’t want that. 

For as long as Freja could remember, Astrid is a sad, angry soul. Freja spent most of her childhood getting screamed at by her, and if Astrid was feeling special, she would send a couple of punches and kicks too. Freja never finds herself getting angry and fights her back as she somewhat could understand the struggles she faces every day. Astrid was a prostitute, having to sell her body to men and women who would see her as objects are stressful and traumatic. And having a child because of that is hard. 

Freja was sent to the streets when she turned 5, spent her days struggling to live and not get killed by men, and coming home past midnight to sleep before getting up after 5 to not get screamed by her mother. When Freja turned 9, little Erik was born, and Astrid unspokenly accepted her back in the house. It’s no secret that Astrid is shit at taking care of children, so that task was taken over by Freja. But the difference is like the moon and sun. Astrid clearly loves Erik while she tolerated Freja. Freja didn’t understand at first, but over time she got over it as Erik is becoming her first priority. 

She wants Erik to have a good life under the sun and within the lush life of nature, so she tried her best to get them to where they are now. 

Though Astrid hates it here, she could care less. Erik needs to be healthy and away from the harsh nature of the Underground where they came from, and as long as Erik is happy and healthy Astrid could moan and bitch and sulk all day and Freja couldn't care less.

\-----

It was a sunny day in Shiganshina. 

Freja was finishing her latest delivery from The Reeves’ in the North Side to the South near the gates, though it wasn’t more than an hour-long trot, the heavy baggage was tiring for Max, her horse. She stopped by the riverside and sat down, giving Max apples to snack on as she stared down the water. Her mind went through the commotion that happened a moment ago when the Survey Corps was coming back from an Expedition. The sullen faces of the soldiers, an insane amount of bodies and blood, as well as the Commander’s breakdown. 

Freja flinched as she remembered the lady who received the mutilated arm of her son, while death and gore are not a foreign concept for her, the distraught faces of loved ones shook her to the core. The lady looked aghast and horrified, her face filled with lines that come with time and stress, her pale face and wide eyes stayed in her memory. 

The Commander didn’t help the situation by breaking down in front of the civilians, saying things that shouldn’t be said to the people who lost or had someone serving in the regiment. While she didn’t blame him for breaking down, that will come for them for the future, the commander himself didn’t have any faith in whatever they do outside the walls, so why should the civilians too? 

“Tha’ was fuhcked up, ain’t it, Max?” Freja sighs, scratching her eyebrows and let out a weak laugh. While she understood the goal of the Survey Corps, she couldn’t see herself being one of the people to be alive when humanity stepped outside the walls. Erik always asks her about outside the walls too, while she tried her best to explain, the boy seemed too high in his imagination and abandoned whatever it was she tried to tell him and beginning to tell her theories he made himself about the world outside. About giant flowers, flying squirrels, fairies, mummified giant cat, and colored people. It’s fun to hear and it does make her think too, but it was too dangerous. 

Erik’s curious nature sometimes can be a bit of a pain too, he wants to go outside so badly and began to form a plan about making giant balloon so they can fly over the walls safely without having to fight the titans. While it sounds tempting, Astrid quickly shuts it down, screaming on top of her lungs. It was the first time that she screamed at Erik, Freja was seconds away to decked her in the face for screaming at him like that, but distracted when she heard him crying. Erik never mentions it after that, but she knows he still wants to go outside. His curiosity will kill him one day, and imagining the shine in his eyes as he discovers the world outside reminds her of the Survey Corps, a regiment filled with dreamers, people of science, and courageous ones. 

“Wha’ a draaaaaaaag,” Freja groans, stretching her arms. “Nae doubt th’ kid would be th’ ones tae see it, ain’t it, Max?” She chuckles, scratching Max’s nose. “Well, he can wait ‘till I die when he wants tae join them,” She grumbles. Max let out a sound of distress, pacing around and nudging her. “Th’ fuhck is it, Max? Yer getting yer period oor something?” Freja kissed her teeth. Max kept whining and nudging her, “Th’ hell?!” Freja yells as Max bits her hand. “Arright, yer grounded, nae apples fo’ th’ rest of th’ day-” 

A sudden lightning strike somewhere just outside the gate, followed by a loud boom that shook the ground, sending her and a couple of kids a few meters from her flung away from the earth. Freja groans as she stands up, a dull throb began to form on the back of her head, spreading across her skull. Flashes of pain spread around her body, almost sending her to the river as she tried to regain her balance. 

Freja groans, cursing inwards as she felt the searing pain. Max starts whining again, nudging her, pushing her with her torso. Freja let out a confused sound before pulling on her reins after hearing the screams of people. “Oi, wha’s happenin’, mate?” She asked a man that ran in her way, grasping his arms. Freja felt her heartbeat go erratic as she saw his horrified expression. 

“It’s the titans! They’re inside the walls!” He cries and got his arm off of her deathly grip, running away. 

Titans. 

Inside the wall.

Freja didn’t know what to feel. She turns her head, her jaw slacks as she sees a titan, 7 meters tall wrapping its giant hand on a little boy before biting his torso off. It was as if the world stops. She could feel her knees weaken, Max’s stressful cries fell silent in her ears. The titan didn’t stop munching, its grin didn’t cease either, it proceeded to drop the rest of the body to the ground and went to another person, repeating the same thing again. Its eyes found hers,  
Its eerily happy face impossibly went brighter, it took a tentative step towards her. 

Max’s distressed sound snapped her out of her trance. She hurriedly mounts her horse, scurrying away from the titan. The screams and cries of people rang loud, the desperate cries for help made her tighten the reins. She stops as she sees a kid crying in front of a large stone. She was no more than 6, her heat clenches as she reminds her of Erik. She turns her head at the south, the titans are pouring inside in masses, though slowly. She still has time. 

“Oi kid, where’s yer parents?” Freja asked her and helped her up to her wagon, ignoring her trashing. The kid screams intelligible words and points at the large stone. Freja winces as she saw blood splattered around them. The answer is clear. “Arright, ye need tae calm doohn I gonnae ge’ ye tae safety,” said Freja as she mounted her horse and ran, keeping her eyes alert for someone. 

The streets were eerily quiet, as most of the civilians had run towards the gates, undoubtedly going to the boats. She tried to calm her nerves as she ran around the city, noticing the kid's cries has gone silent. She glanced at the kid, grimacing slightly as she notices a patch of blood in front of her shirt, probably not hers. The kid looks down at her bare feet, noticing blood and splinters stuck in them. She shakes her head, focusing on the road. Her injuries can be fixed later. She noticed a group of kids had hugged each other on the corner of the streets, and hurrying at them. 

“Oi, ge’ on!” She yells. The kids scramble and hurriedly mount themself to the wagon, voicing desperate thanks toward her and wiping their tears and snot with the sleeves of their shirts. “Grab on tae somethin’ we’re goin’ fast!” She yells. The kids scream as Max dashes away, huffing slightly with the weight of the wagon. “Good girl, Max! Ye can dae it!” Freja rubs Max’s neck. 

“Miss! Hurry up!” A girl sobbed, crawling at the wagon towards her. 

“We’re gonna die!” 

“Mom! Dad!”

Freja cursed loudly as she tried her best to avoid rubbles and streets that have titan on them, swerving around corners hastily. She could hear the kids screaming behind her, and the titans had begun to fill the city. Their screams had attracted them, and the gates are still quite far. She grips her knife, getting her nerves ready for whatever will come at her. 

“Ye’s need tae shut up, aye!? Screamin’ yer heads off like a pig wouldn’t help at all! Calm yer tits!”

“I can’t understand what you’re saying! Just drive!”

“Ach, fuhckin’ hell! CALM DOWN, AYE? YOU’S IS GOIN’ TO BE O-KAY!” Freja exclaims, trying as hard as she can to imitate their accent. She’s feeling a bit frustrated and scared. Kids are going to be her downfall. 

She suddenly pulled to a stop as Max let out a huff. The kids had stopped screaming their heads off, seeing there’s quite a distance between them and the titans. Freja rubs Max’s neck, pleased to hear a satisfied neigh from the horse. She frowned as she noticed 3 figures across a corner, one a garrison officer and two kids. She spent no time running up to them. She let out a surprised noise as she instantly recognized Hannes. 

“Hannes! Th’ hell are ye stoppin’ fo’! Come on! Titans are nearby!” Hannes let out a laugh as he saw her, muttering praises under his breath. Hannes is probably one of the ‘cool’ soldiers, always greets her with a smile and sometimes helping her with her job, mounting heavy baggage can be a bit tiring too. They share a drink or two together, though Hannes is much older than her, he treats her with respect, even going beyond looking out for her like she’s a family. 

“Freja, thank the walls! I’ve run out of gas, do you mind if-”

“Ye don’t even ‘ave tae ask!” Freja cuts him off. “Ge’ on, then! Ain’t go’ nae time tae waste!” Freja get off of her horse, grabbing a brunette boy by his armpits, and hauls him on top of Max, seeing the wagon is getting crowded. Hannes didn’t say anything as he hauls the black-haired girl after her, his pale face and agonized expression said everything. “Yer okay wae th’ kids, aye? Make sure they didn’t ge’ thrown off?” Freja asks in a soft voice, trying her best to not set off Hannes. He replied with a silent nod and get on the wagon. Freja hauls herself between the kids, the brunette in front of her, and the girl behind her. The girl absentmentaly wraps her arms around Freja in a deathly grip. Freja tries her best to not squirm, but those lithe arms began to hurt her. The brunette boy stayed silent as tears had rained down his face, eyes empty. 

“It’s arright, kids. Yer gonnae survive this,” She mutters. The girl wrap her arms tighter. 

\-----

“Thank you, Freja. I doubt we’ll survive without you,” said Hannes as he wraps his arms around her shoulders. Freja returned the sentiment, feeling warm. Hannes gave the best hugs. 

The panic ran high within the survivors, screams of pleading and loss float around them, as they pushed and shoved against each other to get into the boat. Freja kissed her teeth as she saw some of them jumped into the boat. She turns towards the kids from earlier, guided by the Garrisons towards the boat. She looked at the brunette and the black-haired girl, who was still standing numbly, eyes unfocused. 

“Shut up,” Freja sighs. “Ye better ge’ th’ kids up there,” She mutters. As she mounts herself to Max.

“You’re not going with the boat?” 

“Nah, too slow fo’ me, mate,'' Freja scratches her eyebrows. Her family didn’t know about any of this. The possibility of the walls getting kicked to bits still high, she wouldn’t take any risks. “There’s nae tellin’ wha’s aboot tae happen next, but it’s better safe than sorry. I’m takin’ ma family tae Trost and ye better show yer face there, aye?” Freja yells and rushes away after hearing Hannes’ response. She goes to the north, away from the gates, towards the small village she and her family had lived. 

On the way there, Freja has the time to think to herself, running her mind around whatever the fuck had happened in Shiganshina. It almost feels comforting for her, the silence, Max’s huffs, the sound of her feet thudding on the ground. 

But it wasn’t enough. Her mind kept coming back to the titans, the one that bit a kid into half, its eyes, its grin, its eyes, it all became clear to her, she could almost hear every octave the kid screams, even though it was muffled by people’s desperate cries. 

There’s no telling what would happen after this, humanity had lost its first real battle against the world, innocent lives had been taken and the future seems even bleaker. 

\-----

“Wha’ do ye mean the wall is destroyed?” Astrid asks, eyes widening in fear.

“I mean, th’ wall is fuhckin’ destroyed I don’t ge’ wae th’ fuhck it’s confusing,” Freja shoots her mother an exasperated look but stopped immediately when she saw her face. Pale as a sheet, she was shaking. Her eyes unfocused, gaze to space next to her head. She was petrified it was clear. Freja has never seen her mother like this ever since ‘before’, and it was understandable, considering their situation right now. 

“Erik! Are ye done?” asks Freja as she put their belongings to the wagon, securing it. Erik comes up in a rush, his backpack filled with books. He soundlessly put his backpack in the wagon before gripping the sleeves of Freja’s shirt. 

Freja gives his hand a reassuring squeeze, before hauling him up on Max. Astrid comes out of the house, just gaining her composure. She looked even worse now, her eyes were red, and tear stains her cheeks that looked gaunt. She gave Freja a look that can be translated to reassuring, to which she replied with a small nod. Astrid goes up t the wagon while Freja sat behind Erik, wasting no time to leave. 

“Ye remember when I took ye tae hunt? And we go’ a deer, aren’t we?” Asks Freja as she notices her brother’s trembling. Erik answers with a nod. His tiny hands grip the saddle even more tightly. 

“A full-grown stag, it was tough but we go’ its antlers. And I made ye a knife handle from it. Ye still ‘ave tha’?” Erik nods and reaches to his waist, where a small knife with brown seath sat. “Good, ye keep it tight in yer hands and it will be o-kay. As long as ye ‘ave tha’ and me beside ye, yer goin’ tae be just fine. I promise ye tha’,”

“I know. I trust you, Frey,” Erik smiles up to her, grasping her hands. “Can ye tell me wha' happened? I really want tae know,” 

“Ach, I’m not sure ye should be hearin’ this mate, but-”

“WAIT! HELP US! PLEASE!” A high-pitched voice calls, from behind. Freja snaps her head at them, her own knife rises in front of her face, ready to attack. 

“Frey, put doohn yer knife fo’ fuhck’s sake! It’s just kids!” Astrid exclaims and jumps off the wagon and ran towards them, her eyes wide in concern. Freja’s jaw dropped open when her mother ran to them, showing more compassion towards them more than the last 14 years of her life. It was odd to see her mother turns the complete opposite of what she is but she chooses to ignore it and drops down to help them. 

It was three kids about a year or two younger than her, two boys and one girl. One of the boys has dark hair, a hooked nose, and tall figure, the other one was stocky build with blonde hair and golden eyes, carrying the girl in his arms. They all looked like deers that just been caught by hunters’ trap, eyes wide as saucers. 

“Give her tae me,” Freja goes to carry the girl from the boy’s arms and turns back towards the wagon, ignoring Astrid’s worry towards them. “If ye wanna live, ye better ge’ in th’ wagon! We ain’t wastin’ anymore time!” Freja yells as she put the girl, and hurried up to mount herself behind Erik. 

“Thank you for stopping for us,” the blond boy utters, his face was caked in blood. Astrid just wakes him off and fusses over him, asking a lot of questions about his injuries. 

“Well I ain't exactly heartless enough tae left three helpless kids covered in fuhckin' blood,” Freja frowns. The two kids looks jittery and nervous, which was expected from seeing so much horror. But they both somewhat look unconcerned at all, eyes kept glancing everywhere around, as though they have never seen this place before. 

“Wha’ is yer names?” Astrid asks kindly as she presses a handkerchief to the blond boy’s forehead. 

“I’m Reiner, this is Bertolt,” He answers with a wide smile that looked unhinged. “And she’s Annie,”


	2. Chapter 2

Trost District was in chaos. After the news of Titans entering Wall Maria travels inside the interior, the civillians goes into panic. Many people left Trost to Sina, some goes to Utopia District in the North, even more of a safe place as the snow covers them from any Titans. Thousands of survivors cluttered into Trost, making it even more packed than it already is, raising the statistic of crime and poverty up to 80%. It was devastating, many people left to die of hunger in the streets, fights erupts everywhere. It was chaos. 

“Oi, ye ge’ any food?” Freja asks the three kids she run into on the way here. Reiner looks up at her, his eyes wide and mouth gapes, his arm tightened on his side. The other two didn’t look much different either, Bertolt’s hands is gripping a long piece of wood while Annie sent her a death glare that was even more scary than it usually is. 

Freja knew the three of them had separated themselves from her family the moment they arrived at the gates, but somehow they always met each other. Not to mention that Freja always finds herself looking out for those three who looks as lost as a newborn fawn in the middle of a group of lion. They always have this looks on their eyes that everyone in here had killed their whole family and they’re eager to take revenge. 

In some ways, Freja could understand. the Interior civilians have more privilege than any other person in Maria. The King himself don’t really care of what happened outside Wall Rose, so she could take it personally. 

“Th’ fuchk ye’s lookin’ at me like tha’? I was tryin’ tae offer ye tae eat with us!” Freja frowns. “Look, I ge’ wae ye’s bein’ like this. I do. Ye just lost yer family and home, along with another three thousand hundred people-”

“Three hundred thousand,” Annie cuts her off, her glare still strong in her eyes. 

“Wha’?” Freja left bewildered. 

“You mean three hundred thousand, you got it reversed-”

“Wha’ever!” Freja exclaims. It could be that her brain and mouth didn’t sync up perfectly, but she could care less about that now. She won’t leave her family alone where people are fighting for food. “Yer free tae join us, aye? They’ve ran out of food today, and I ain’t lettin’ ye kids starve, but if ye want tae tha’s fine too,” she turns around and scowls. 

“You’re not that much older than us, you know,” said Reiner this time as he ran to catch up with her, the anger in his eyes has gone. She had to look down at him, as he only reached her shoulders. 

“Yeah? Everyone younger than me is a fuhckin’ kid tae me,” She sniffs. 

“How old are you anyway?”

“Four teen,”

“I’m twelve,”

“See? A fuhckin’ kid still,” She let out a teasing smile, which Reiner replied with a shove. She could hear Bertold and Annie follows them both, still unsure. 

“Say, Freja?” Reiner rushes in his step, his limbs had to move faster to match Freja’s long ones. “Why do you talk like that?” 

“Like wha’?” Freja could feel her heartbeat spikes. She had people noticing her different accent, but didn’t care enough to suspect anything. Kids however, are curious beings. They would pry her off, and someway or another told someone about it. 

“Like that,” Annie quips from her other side, she’s much shorter than Reiner, only reaching her elbows. It’s almost cute if not by her deathly glare. 

“Dinnae wha’ th’ fuhck yer talkin’ aboot. Ah!” Freja almost let out a loud sigh of relief when she saw Erik and her mother sitting and huddled together near a big window close in the corner of the warehouse, Erik sitting on her lap while she tries her best to warm him up. “Yer cold, Erik?” Freja pulls of her thin robe, and put it on Erik. Freja tried her best to mask her shivers, but by the look in her mother’s eyes, she knew. 

“Ah! Come here, kids. Huddle in. ye’s must be cold, take this,” Astrid let out a smile while handing them bread each and a bottle of water to share. Bertolt took it gingerly, eyes wide and unsure,, but when Astrid started to give him blankets he had to accept and share it with his friends. Freja is glad that she had some time to pack some blankets and necessities from her house, seeing how many people have almost nothing to warm themselves with. But now she’s hungry as her portion went for them. 

“You’re not… eating?” asks Bertolt slowly between chews. It’s probably the first time she had heard him talk, and was glad that he started to interact with her. The tall kid with round eyes and blush in his cheeks looks up at her from the ground, though a bit fearfully. 

“Nah, I already ate. Ye eat tha' and save it for later, aye? ’m not sure if Garrisons ‘ave rations for tomorrow,” said Freja as she ran her eyes through the crowd. Many people had stopped fighting, thankfully, but they all still starving nonetheless. If she’s right she might have to start hunting. “I talked tae Hannes earlier, they had tae take rations from the Military and tha’ left us three days worth of food,” 

“Wha’? Tha’ means this is all we can ge’?” Astrid scoffs. Freja could feel a tick starts to form in her forehead. “Wha’ aboot Erik? He needs his nutrients, or me? If I didn’t ge’ enough food my legs will-”

“Ye think I didn’t kno’ tha’?” Freja snaps. She could feel the stares of the three kids, but chose to ignore it. “Look, I tried ma best tae get ye this, and I will ge’ more. Trust me on tha’, I just want ye to save up because we,” Freja’s eyes found Erik’s. Her kid brother looks up at her undeterringly, eyes still wide and healthy, cheeks full and littered with rosy blush. There’s the undeniable fear that crept to her chest that this might be the last time for a long time that he looked like that. 

That reminds her of the hundred kids she grew up with that have pale skin as ghosts, eyes sunken so deep and ribs jutted out, threatening to split the skin open. And more of them that clumped together, bodies cold and limp, before turning into dust. There’s so many kids up here too, who lost everything they had and have the same survival opportunities as them. Taking food away from them is evil. “We’re not the only ones who needs food-”

“I don’t give a fuhck aboot tha’!” 

“Fuhckin’ check yersel’ woman! Remember tha’ I was th’ one who gave ye a roof, clothes and food tae live!” She could almost hear the furrows of Annie’s brows and the questioning glance that Bertold and Reiner share. Erik grabs her hand, squeezing it. Freja could feel her anger start to dissipate, and she was glad for Erik. He was the only one who was able to keep her in check. 

“We’ve been through this before. And we will ge’ through this again,” Freja glanced towards the three kids and Erk before rushing off outside the warehouse, a plan began to form in her head.

\----

_“Run, run, run ma dear  
Buy yersel’ another day,” _

Freja closed her eyes and let her voice speak. Despite the loudness of her voice that ran around the Town Park, she could hear several light footsteps around the market stands. She could feel the heavy gaze of people surrounding her, some staring at her in awe, some tried their best to not cry, and some just closing their eyes and focusing on her voice. 

_“A cold wind's whisperin’ secrets in yer ear  
So low only ye can hear,”_

It almost weird to hear the whole Town Park fell silent and the only thing they could hear was Freja’s voice, singing into the air. Freja could hear the slightest movement of people, fabric brushing together, people scratching their ears, people tried their best to hold their cough in. 

_“Tall trees bend and lean pointin’ where tae go  
Where ye will still be all alone,”_

Freja open her eyes, trying to catch moving shadows in between market stands. She could see tall figure discreetly grabbing a few fruits, another one snatching a few gold coins from a man with gold chains on their neck. Freja suppressed a smirk when the man didn’t seem to notice anything. 

_“Don't ye fret, ma dear  
It'll all be over soon,”_

A cough was heard from near the stands, Freja looked up to see Reiner scratching his chin. A glint of golden escaped his sleeves. Freja smiles widely and sang louder as the song reached the end.

_“I'll be waitin’ here for ye  
Run fast as ye can,”_

A round of applause was coming from the people and Freja bask on it. She quickly grabs her hat in front of her and accepts the money people gave her. She smiles warmly, saying thank yous. As soon as the people starts to disperse, She ran towards the back of the warehouse, counting the money she got from singing. It was baffling to her how people would still gave her money even though their condition are not much better than her. She could remember the forlorn eyes of Mrs. Darcy as she stroking the golden band around her ring finger, Mr. Johannes’ little smile as he stares emptily at her, his mind elsewhere. 

Freja let out a deep sigh. When will this end?

“Oi! Get your head out of the clouds, Frey!” said Annie as she kick her shins. Freja hissed and looked down at the short blonde, her arms full with fruits. Reiner snickers, his pockets clinking. 

“Ye’s go’ a lot of shits aye?” Freja grins seeing Reiner pulls out two pouches filled with coins, a golden watch and bracelets. In the last few weeks Reiner, Annie and Bertolt had become Freja’s apprentice on pickpocketing and stealing. She had ‘recruited’ those three as she needed more hands to be able to survive in this condition. “Good job,” She put her arms around Bertolt who was just a little bit shorter than her and pulled him down, ruffling his short hair. 

The four of them walked inside. The warehouse is in a grave condition, there’s a huge hole on the ceiling that lets the light come in as well as rain water. The whole area is moist, there’s mushrooms and moss growing on the walls, and everytime windy rain comes the walls are creaking and vibrating. It was devastating, people starts to develop an illness caused by the air. Freja knew about this illness as she and Astrid had this illness long ago before they moved away, and she remembered there hardly any medicine for this type of illness, and whether they die or not is up to the nature. 

“Ah! Is that a mango?” a little girl gasps.

“Holy Sina! That’s a lot of bread!” Someone she recognises as Ronny the Blacksmith quipps.

“Can you make soup out of this?” ask Lynne, her eyes roaming on the fruits. 

“Aright, aright, gather up, everyone,” Freja commands in a playful tone, smirking at the kids who whines in protest. “I’m pre’y sure we go’ lots of shit today and everyone will ge’ their share, aright? All ye need tae do is just be patient and it’ll be over soon,” said Freja as she ushers her apprentice behind her, their eyes cold and threatening the ones who got close to them.

“Ye sure there Frey?”

“How about you guys ust share it right here right now?”

“I don’t trust you,”

“Damn, if looks could kill,” A girl scowled at Annie, whose expression darkens. 

“Right naew, we’re yer only hope,” Freja chuckles humorlessly.. “Th’ Garrisons had stopped comin’ here over a month ago, and ye all whinin’ and cryin’, remember tha’?” Freja smirks. The warehouse she lived in had been abandoned by the government as they had stopped sending supplies and halting the administration. Freja and some other adults had tried to ask the soldiers, but it left unheard. People began to willow in panic, some tries to move to another warehouse but failed as the people there had finished their administration. Some had gone rogue and began to life their lives as criminals but stopped short as they got caught so easily. 

When the adults starts panicking, Freja had been a step further than them. She began to train kids who are willing to make a living, she teached them how to charm people, trick them, and even lick people’s asses to get a job. And one main thing she taught them was how to pickpockets. Back before she moved to Wall Maria, surviving on everything is the only way she could live, she fights, she steals and she hit people to get money, and now she’s teaching other kids to do it too. 

“Ye can just ge’ a job somewhere and ye don’t ‘ave tae wait for us tae ge’ ye food. But yet here ye are,” She glares coldly at the crown who had gone quiet. “So ye’s better tae shut yer mouths aye?” 

\-------------------------------

“Wha’ a draaaaaaaag,” Freja groans loudly, sighing when her eyes fell to Reiner who were talking to Bertolt. The two of them had attentively listened to wherever Freja taught them, and they had mastered the act of stealing quickly. Maybe it was because of the pressure of living as a rat, humans change fast in the face of uncertainty. 

But the three of them, especially, were exceptionally clever. They didn't show it much, choosing to follow whatever Freja asked without questions. They always seem to know what to do, and somehow doing whatever Freja’s asked, it was weird. It was in their eyes, like gunpowder and storm. They’ve seen some shit, Freja thoughts. But what is it? They always talk in hushed whispers, eyes darted everywhere, especially at soldiers and rich people from the interior. Freja knew the moment she landed her eyes at them the first time they are not from Wall Maria. Their accent was rough and calculated, like a mix of civilians of Wall Sina and Utopians. 

“Oi! Wha’ are ye talkin’ aboot?” Freja yells as Reiner and Bertolt start hissing and shoving each other. “If ye’s gonnae fight, let me at least put a number on one of ye’s, aye!” Freja snickers. Reiner and Bertolt jumped away from each other, startled. Their eyes widens in panic, each of their hand gripping a stone. 

“Uh- no… nothing,” Bertolt stammered, face red and not from embarrassment. Freja raises her eyebrows, surprised to hear Bertolt decided to talk first. 

“It’s just- we-” Reiner clears his throat. Freja almost let out a laugh seeing their panicked face. 

“Nah, I’m just messin’ with ye’s. Ye go’ yer own business I go’ mine,” Freja sighs. Freja could feel the burning stare of the two boys, but decided to ignore it. She knew in her guts that these kids had something to hide, but she isn’t going to pry the off of them. It is not her business. 

“Actually, I have a question,” said Reiner as he goes to sit next to Freja who laid on her back facing the sky. Bertolt follows him, and she could see the uncertainty in his eyes. These kids are scared shitless or, in the verge of breaking. They shook like a newborn lamb, eyes on alert 24/7, their bodies tense. I mean, almost everyone who survived the attack of Wall Maria like this too, but they’re on a different level. 

“Ask away,”

“How do you get to meet the King?” Freja chokes on air and sat up abruptly, laughing hysterically. 

“Why th’ fuhck ye’s want tae meet th’ King?”

“No reason-”

“Eeeeh! Wrong answer!” Bertolt squirms slightly under Freja’s heavy gaze, his eyes casted everywhere but her. Reiner on the other hand, looks agitated. Freja furrows her eyebrows, Are these kids runaways? It explains how they talk like a fuhckin’ posh all th’ time, She thoughts. And the more she dug into it, the clearer it got. Reiner always has his back straight and poised, and talks like some Lords from the Interior. And even if Bertolt almost never talks, he’s smart, the kind of smart rich people get, she could tell his level of education is higher than even a teacher from Shiganshina from the way he looks at things.

More than one time she saw him teaching Erik how to do complicated math and some physics even though she doesn’t know what that means. Annie however, is a wild card. She acts like she doesn’t care 24/7, never talks unless it’s to harass Freja or Reiner, and looks like one of ‘those’ rich kids who got isolated by the whole family because she’s either crippled or hard to control. She would assume the latter, but something in her makes her think that she was so, so far from the truth. 

“We want to kill him,” Annie suddenly spoke up, making the three of them jumped in their seats. Reiner and Bertolt visibly flinched, Freja could practically hear their hearts leaped to their throats.

“Everyone wants tae kill him,” the three kids frozen in their place. “Yer not special,” Though taboo, the topic of the King has always been one of the many things people talk about. a lot of people seem to be skeptical about him, as most people here never seen their ruler's face. It's just simply not easy to trust a man with no face. And Freja got more than one reason to kill him. she saw firsthand how the King had neglected people in the place she grows up, and it was heartbreaking. She had a deep hatred for the king, and more often than not dreaming of killing him. 

But maybe this time it will come true, with the help of three posh kids.


End file.
